


glitterbomb

by gracezodiac



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Phasma, Clubbing, Dancing, Drag Queens, Gay Bar, Getting Together, Glitter, Grinding, Hickies, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 09:18:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8396107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracezodiac/pseuds/gracezodiac
Summary: “Ben!” He hissed, dragging the other man towards himself so he could whisper in his ear, “Is that a jockstrap?!”
    Or: Ben takes Hux out to his first gay club.





	

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy what have i done
> 
> so this is heavily based off my own experiences of going to a gay bar for the first time, the way ben is dressed and acts in this fic is inspired by a good friend of mine, who i'm incredibly fond of. but yes, i wanted to write something based on the wacky club i go to and all the good times i've had there so far
> 
> warnings: 
> 
> -references to homophobia (you can skip it if you go from 'The strangest thing so far' to 'Ben came back with the drinks')
> 
> -kissing after drinking (both of the characters are still relatively sober, and both want to do it, but warning just in case!)
> 
> i'd love to hear what you think! please comment if you can, and i hope you enjoy! ;*

He couldn't believe he was doing this. Why he'd let Ben talk him into going to their local gay club was beyond him. Hux was not the partying type, and if Ben expected him to suddenly change his mind after tonight, he was sorely mistaken. The whole thing would be a disaster, Hux was sure of it, but Ben had pouted at him until he'd agreed, and the thought of disappointing him made him feel uncomfortable.

 

Having never been on a night out before, Hux wasn't exactly sure what dress code he was supposed to adhere to. When he'd texted Ben earlier he'd been met with a response of ' _u could wear nothin and they'd let u in ;)))_ ' which was both entirely unhelpful, and resulted in him blushing furiously. Fucking Ben.

 

So now he was dressed in his only pair of jeans, along with a light blue shirt and a darker blue jumper he'd thrown over it. _“It brings out your eyes,”_ Ben had mentioned once, and Hux had scoffed at the time, but could never bring himself to get rid of the clothes after that, just in case he needed to wear them again. Not that he was looking for Ben's approval of course, that would be absurd. Ben was a menace and annoying and Hux really didn't know why he was still friends with him.

 

He was halfway through fixing his hair when he heard Ben saunter in through his front door. Hux wondered, not for the first time, whether giving him the spare key had been a good idea.

 

“Doll!” He heard, just before his bedroom door was opened, “I hope you're- Oh my god are you really going out dressed like that?”

 

“Good evening to you too,” Hux grumbled, rolling his eyes, “and I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

 

Ben ignored him, and kept talking. “I presumed you would have owned something a little more... Well.”

 

Hux spun around, a retort on his tongue but it vanished the moment he saw Ben – or more accurately, what he was wearing.

 

It wasn't unusual to see Ben in ridiculous skinny jeans, but Hux had never seen any quite so... Tight before. Not to mention the also tight tank top which had 'Let's get one thing straight, I'm not' lovingly printed on it. And-

 

“Is that glitter in your hair?”

 

And actually the more Hux looked, the more he realised the glitter wasn't just in Ben's hair, it was everywhere. It was over his arms (Hux tried his hardest not to stare, but it was hard not to when the man was so well defined), his face, he'd even got it on his clothes, the last part Hux doubted was intentional.

 

Ben grinned, evidently pleased with himself. “Hux you do know the place is called Glitterbomb, right?”

 

Hux just groaned, sitting himself down on the end of his bed and dropping his head into his hands. “Why did I let you talk me into this...” He grumbled, and felt Ben sit down next to him and rub his back soothingly.

 

“Because we have been best friends for over two years now and you told me that you have never been to a gay club, which is unacceptable, so I, being the great friend that I am, have decided to show you what you've been missing out on.”

 

Hux sighed, resigning himself to his fate. Ben shushed him and continued on. “I wouldn't be taking you if I didn't think you'd enjoy it babe.”

 

Immediately Hux was glad he'd hidden his face away so Ben couldn't see him blush. He knew he did it on purpose to get a rise of him, and was annoyingly successful at it. He didn't like being called 'doll' or 'babe' or 'pumpkin' or 'baby'. He didn't. They were tacky names and the feeling he got in his stomach when Ben called him them was disgust, and Phasma could, quite frankly, get fucked with her unsubtle smirks and raised eyebrows whenever Hux complained about it to her.

 

Before he knew it, Ben was hauling him back up to his feet, pulling his hands away from his face.

 

“If you really don't want to, you don't have to come.”  
  
“And give you the satisfaction of me backing out? I don't think so.”

 

Despite how harsh the words came out, Ben beamed at him. “There's my Hux!” He said, and Hux tried to ignore the aching in his chest at the word 'my'. “Now, I just need to make one addition to you. Close your eyes.”

 

Hux threw him a look that warned him to be careful, but he shut his eyes regardless. He clenched his fists, wondering what exactly Ben planned to do to him. He didn't feel anything at first, and felt himself becoming more nervous as time went on. Although finally he felt Ben rub his thumbs over his cheeks, and tried not to flinch at the sudden contact.

 

“There, all done!” He heard him say, and slowly he let his eyes flutter open. He looked down at himself, twisting around to look behind him. He couldn't see anything different, and was about to ask Ben exactly what he'd done, but when he turned to look in the mirror it became obvious.

 

“You put glitter on me too?!” He gasped, noticing the way his cheeks now sparkled, as well as his hair. How he hadn't heard Ben putting it there, he had no idea. And where exactly had he produced such copious amounts of glitter from? As though he'd read his mind, Ben grinned and put his finger up to his lips. “I am a man of mystery. And besides, you look good in glitter. So, are you ready to go?”

 

Hux sighed, taking one last look at himself. “As ready as I'll ever be.”

 

*

 

By the time they'd reached the club, Hux had gone from feeling vaguely apprehensive to downright nauseous. Sensing this, Ben had reached out to take his hand, squeezing it gently as if to say 'I'm here, I've got you'. It had worked, in part, Hux started to feel a little less nervous about the whole thing. However once they'd paid their entry fee and walked through the doors, Hux felt rooted to the spot.

 

“Oh my god.” He exhaled, looking around the place. There were already so many people there, similarly covered in glitter. The sheer variety of colour that surrounded him made Hux feel like he was in some sort of dream; It was entirely bizarre. Ben had already started waving at people who were dancing in the crowd, shouting at them over the loud music. He let go of Hux's hand to go and hug some of them, and Hux tried not to take it personally. He already knew Ben was a social person, it wasn't like he was abandoning him. He needed to stop being so pathetic.

 

Ben came back over to him soon after and Hux tried not to look so relieved for it. “I'm gonna grab us some drinks,” he said loudly, and Hux could see how happy he was, “I'll be back in a minute!”

 

Hux nodded at him before he sauntered off again, presumably towards the bar. Now left by himself, Hux took a moment to really look around at the place, and the people here. As far as clubs go, it wasn't so bad. He'd always imagined them to be so claustrophobic and dark, but everything here seemed to be cast in a magenta hue, accompanied by other strobe lighting further towards the dance floor. It was bigger than he was expecting too, further onwards to the right he could see some stairs that led to an upper level, where there were a few people dotted about, leaning over the balcony to look down on the people below. The lower level extended quite far outwards too, far enough that Hux couldn't see where Ben had gone.

 

The strangest thing so far, was the fact that Hux knew most of people here were like him, one way or another. He'd never been around so many people like this – he hadn't been to pride before, he'd wanted to when he was fifteen, back home in Ireland, but on the day before his father had found out where he'd been planning to go and, well.

 

He wasn't permitted to leave the house for weeks afterwards.

 

But being here now, surrounded by everyone like him, it felt like some sort of achievement. A giant 'fuck you' to his father, and a distant hope for a young boy who was so ashamed of himself, a hope that one day he'd escape that wretched household and he wouldn't feel so alone anymore.

 

Ben came back with the drinks just in time, and Hux accepted his eagerly, downing most of it in one, not bothering to ask what it was. He looked up to see Ben gaping at him, before his mouth turned into a smirk, and he too downed his drink. “Eager?” He teased, taking Hux's empty glass along with his own and setting them down on a table next to them. “You wish.” Hux answered back, letting a smile slip onto his face as Ben laughed. Even over the music he could still hear him, and he vowed to always be around to make him laugh, to hear that sound.

 

“C'mon, let's go see the dancers,” Ben said, taking Hux's hand once more and pulling him over to the crowd of people. Off to one side was a seating area, which had some sort of poles next to it, where most people were gathered. Trying to ignore the feeling of being so close to a group of strangers, Hux was about to ask where the dancers were when he saw one of them get up onto the pole.

 

“Ben!” He hissed, dragging the other man towards himself so he could whisper in his ear, “Is that a jockstrap?!”

 

“His name is Tom actually.”

 

And then without any warning, said dancer caught Ben's eye and grinned at him, letting another similarly clad dancer switch places with him as he walked over to them and kissed Ben on the cheek, before giving him a hug.

 

“Benny! I'm glad you're here!” He greeted, and Hux tried his hardest to keep his gaze above the waist.

 

“Where else would I be?” Ben grinned back, which made Tom laugh, shoving gently at his chest. Hux felt the first flickers of jealously in his stomach and tried his best to ignore them, which wasn't difficult when Tom turned his attention to him instead.

 

“Now who do we have here?” He purred, reaching out to touch Hux's arm. “Hey cutie, what's your name?”

 

Hux was about to stutter indignantly, but Ben just chuckled and wrapped an arm around Hux's shoulder, saving him from embarrassment. “Play nice, it's his first time. This is Hux.”

 

“Hux is it? Well Hux, I hope to see you around.” He winked at him and did Hux did his best to smile politely back, leaning into Ben's touch like it was some sort of safety blanket. “I'd better get back to work,” Tom said, turning his attention back to Ben, smiling apologetically, “have fun you two!” He gave Ben a secret sort of grin, before blowing a kiss at the both of them and walking back to the poles.

 

“You alright there doll?” Ben's voice in his ear shook him from his daze. He nodded, turning away from where Tom had left. “How do you know him?” He asked, hoping that Ben couldn't hear the accusation in his voice. They were very close... Maybe they'd gone home together one night and slept together. So what, Hux told himself, why was that any of his business? It didn't matter. Ben could sleep with whoever he wanted, it meant nothing to him.

 

“I'm a regular.” Ben shrugged, beginning to sway slightly to the music. “After the first few weeks they just took me in as one of their own. They're still trying to get me to dance for them.”

 

“They what?”

 

Ben just winked at him and Hux tried not to choke on this information. Ben being asked to dance? Dressed in nothing but glitter and a jock- Oh. Oh that was something Hux really didn't need a mental image of. He'd seen Ben shirtless countless times but never below the waist and, _oh_. Well that would be-

 

“I need another drink.”

 

Ben raised an eyebrow at him, and Hux waved him off. Some more people came in through the entrance and called out Ben's name, throwing their arms in the air. Ben shouted over to them, and then looked between the group and Hux, conflicted as to who he should stay with. Hux just tutted and started pushing him towards the others.

 

“Go on, you ridiculous social butterfly, I can get my own drink.”

 

Ben looked relieved, although a little concerned at leaving Hux alone by himself. He squeezed Hux's shoulder gently, before giving him a smirk. “Don't get too drunk babe.”

 

Hux scoffed and rolled his eyes, a grin on his face the whole time. He waited until Ben had reached his other friends, hugging them all, before he turned away and headed over to the bar. There was enough people in the club now that a queue had developed, but Hux didn't mind too much, it gave him chance to get his thoughts in order – in particular ones concerning Ben.

 

Hux wasn't so blind to deny that Ben was attractive. And a nice person. And everything Hux wasn't. But that was where it ended; Ben was a good friend to him, better than he ever deserved, and he was so, so grateful for their friendship. College wouldn't have been the same if they hadn't met, and Hux never wanted what they had to change. He was happy. He _was_. And he hoped Ben was happy too. He looked over his shoulder back to the dance floor and saw Ben dancing with his group. He was smiling at someone, who Hux couldn't see at first, but when they came into view and started grinding against him, Hux decided he'd seen more than enough. He turned back to the queue, shuffling along into the new gap near the front of the bar. He focused on what drink he was going to get and absolutely did not spare a second thought for Ben and his _friend_.

 

Once he'd reached the front of the queue he ordered a few vodka shots; certainly not enough to make him drunk, but enough to give him a light buzz. He wasn't going to get wasted no matter what happened, the only time he let himself go that far was if he was at home, or with Ben and Phasma at one of their flats. Whilst he was sure everyone in the establishment had no ill intentions, one could never be too sure.

 

As he was about to pay for the drinks, a man slid in next to him and added a whiskey on top of the order, before paying for it all. Hux was surprised, but turned to thank the stranger regardless. He was attractive, Hux supposed, in the typical sense of the word. Neat blond hair, cropped close to the sides and longer on top, quite slim, and jeans which Hux presumed accentuated his rear. Not bad, but not Hux's type. His type was more like-

 

“Thank you.” He nodded at the man, picking up one of the shots, whilst the stranger took a sip from his own drink.

 

“No problem Red.” The man replied in a soft voice, smirking ever so slightly. He was cocky, Hux could tell, and he absolutely hated that nickname, but if this stranger was going to pay for his drinks, he wasn't about to complain.

 

“Haven't seen you here before.” The man commented, tilting his head to acknowledge the rest of the club. Hux threw back his shot, feeling comfort in the familiar burn before reaching for another. “I'm here now.” He said, wondering how he was supposed to navigate this conversation. He wasn't such a fool that he didn't recognise the man was trying to flirt with him. But as much as he wasn't interested in him, it was nice to have a little attention. Especially since the only other person who was ever flirty with him was Ben and, well, clearly that meant nothing.

 

“What's your name Red?”

 

“Hux.”

 

“I'm Jason.”

 

Hux threw back his second shot, and then his third without breaking eye contact.

 

“Nice to meet you.”

 

The man, Jason, grinned wolfishly at him, and Hux started to wonder if he'd made a big mistake.

 

“You're pretty cute. I think we could have some fun getting to know each other.”

 

“Oh I'm sure you do.” Hux muttered to himself, whilst smiling politely and trying to figure out an escape route. Damn Ben, why did he let him go off and grind against his stupid friends, he should have dragged him over here, since apparently he couldn't move by himself without being propositioned. It was a bad idea, he shouldn't have come, damn it all-

 

“Baby...”

 

Ben's arms wrapped around his waist and whispered in his ear, and Hux had never felt so relieved in his entire life. Jason looked between them both before understanding washed over his face, and he gave Hux a resigned smile.

 

“Maybe next time Red.” And with that he finished the rest of his drink, before turning around and walking away. Hux let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and almost gave in to the urge to turn around and hug Ben. The moment Jason was out of sight, Ben had let go and manoeuvred Hux around to face him. Hux was surprised to see him looking so serious.

 

“Are you alright? Did he say anything?”

 

“What? Yes I'm fine, he didn't- He just bought my drinks. He- Look it doesn't matter now. Thank you for uh, coming over.”

 

Ben seemed to relax then, his usual smile back in place. Hux had never seen anything more wonderful.

 

“C'mon,” he said, grabbing Hux's arm to tug on it, “Delilah's about to perform, you don't wanna miss this!”

 

Not wanting to argue, Hux finished his last shot, before letting Ben drag him back through the crowds towards the bottom of the stairs he'd spotted earlier. He couldn't say he was particularly surprised Ben knew the name of yet another performer, but it still made him wonder about just how many people Ben actually knew here, and what sort of things he got up to with them. It was a dangerous train of thought, and he desperately wished he could abandon it, but it was proving harder and harder the more he saw of this place.

 

Ben manhandled him to the front so they had a clear view, although what for Hux was yet to find out.

 

“Ben-” He started, but Ben shushed him, telling him to just watch. Hux huffed but did as he said, and as the last song faded out, a women walked down to almost the bottom of the stairs with a microphone, asking how everyone was doing, which was met with raucous cheers. “That's Melanie, one of the queens, she'll be performing later.” Ben whispered in his ear.

 

As Melanie continued to talk to the crowd, Hux realised that these people must be the ones who's parties Ben attended, parties he'd always asked Hux if he wanted to come along to as his plus one, an offer which Hux had always declined, reiterating that he wasn't the party type. It wasn't a lie, coming out here tonight was perhaps the first he'd ever been to a party in his life, but there was something about the idea of turning up as Ben's 'plus one' that he wasn't quite ready to face.

 

There was a loud cheer and Melanie walked back up the stairs whilst Delilah came down in her place. She started mouthing along to a song Hux didn't know, but found himself entertained regardless. She had UV paint drawn across her cheeks and on her shirt, and it was rather a striking image. Next to him Ben was cheering her on, energetic as always. After a certain point, Hux realised that he'd stopped watching the performance and had started watching Ben instead. Hux hadn't seen him so elated before, practically glowing with happiness (although Hux supposed that could have been the glitter). It was a side to him that didn't show too much, and Hux was lucky enough to have seen it before, but in very different contexts. It had never been anything like this.

 

Suddenly Ben was being dragged up onto the stairs by Delilah, who began dancing with him. Hux watched on, feeling a little shocked as Ben danced with her like it was a routine he was used to. Whilst they moved she produced two tubes of more UV paint from her shirt, which she handed over to Ben, who proceeded to remove the caps and squeeze the paint onto her chest. This earned a huge cheer from the crowd, encouraging them further in their performance. Hux felt himself flush when Ben started to spread the paint over her clothes and slid a hand under her shirt, pushing it up. The crowd were going wild, and Hux was sure by the time this was over he'd have gone deaf. Still, he watched, transfixed, feeling something stir in his gut as he watched Ben dance, the way he moved so freely, without any restraint. Hux was a confident man, but Ben possessed confidence of a different kind, one Hux could only dream of having.

 

When the song finished the two of them bowed for their audience, before giving each other a high-five and a hug. Delilah rustled up Ben's hair and laughed when he tried to fix it. He turned to Hux and beckoned him over, as everyone around them slowly moved back to the dance floor. Hesitantly Hux walked over as Ben laughed at something Delilah had said.

 

“Dee, this is Hux.” He said, pulling Hux close to his side. Delilah looked him up and down obviously, making her appreciation known. “Not bad Solo, I'd tap that. I bet he gets real wild once you loosen him up a little.”

 

Hux could feel his face going bright red, and for a moment considered burying his face in Ben's shirt, but he doubted that would make the situation any better. Ben, the absolute dick, didn't even bother to defend him, just kept laughing, letting his arm slip from Hux's shoulders to his waist. “Oh he's already wild, you just have to get to know him first.”

 

Hux glared at him, but Ben wasn't put off by it. “Isn't that right doll?”

 

Delilah grinned at them both, folding her arms over her chest. “Look at you both, you're adorable. Listen I've gotta get cleaned up, I'll catch up with you later!” And with a wave she'd descended up the stairs, presumably to some sort of dressing room.

 

Hux was still trying to process what he'd seen, and the conversation that had just happened when Ben was pulling him away again and back over to the dance floor. Hux tried to keep a look out for the 'friend' from earlier, but whoever they were had become lost in the sea of people. Ben started dancing, sticking close to him, although before he could get too into it Hux was pulling him down to shout in his ear.

 

“You prick, I'm not uptight!”

 

Ben grinned at him and slid his arms around Hux's waist in a loose embrace. “If you were listening you'd know that I argued the opposite, although you're making me wonder if I was wrong...”

 

Bastard. Hux vowed to prove him wrong, and he knew just how. There was no doubt Ben thought he wouldn't be able to dance, or would at least be incredibly awkward at it. Well, finally all the drunken nights he'd had with Phasma had paid off, listening to her shitty music and dancing together in her flat. He stood back, just enough that Ben let go of him, and he began to sway his hips in time with the beat. It wasn't quite his own music taste, but that didn't matter. What did matter was the look of shock on Ben's face (and something else he couldn't recognise) as Hux started to get more into it, letting himself go.

 

After the initial shock had worn off, Ben smirked at him and started dancing too, staying close to Hux at all times. The more they danced, the more Hux felt himself stop caring about the fact that he was surrounded by sweaty strangers that he didn't know, about the fact that he was so new to all of this, it stopped meaning a damn thing. Phasma would have been proud if she could have seen him then, throwing his head back and moving his hips in a, quite frankly, obscene way. After a particularly vulgar move, Ben grinned at him so brightly that Hux couldn't help but step closer to him, sliding his arms around Ben's neck, grinning back.

 

“Didn't know you had it in you doll.” Ben shouted over the music, holding onto Hux's hips, who just rolled his hips forward to prove himself. “I hate it when you call me that.” He shouted back, feeling his heart begin to race as Ben's hands began to move over his hips, up his back and down again. “No you don't.” He grinned moving in time with him. _No_ , Hux thought, _I really don't_.

 

They continued to dance for a little while longer, focusing solely on each other. It felt so good to have Ben's hands on him, way more than it should have, but any guilt Hux felt over it was squashed down with how stunning Ben looked when his eyes slipped shut, illuminated up by the different coloured lights and just let himself just move. _I want to kiss him_ , Hux thought suddenly as Ben opened his eyes and smiled at him, _I want to kiss him and I don't want to stop._

 

On some level, he'd known for a while. He knew the things he'd felt around Ben weren't feelings you were supposed to have towards friends, but he'd put it down to happiness, to have someone that understood him so well. Up until then he'd only had Phasma, and whilst he loved her and was incredibly fond of her, it wasn't the same. What he had with Ben was different, special, as sappy as that sentiment was. And of course he'd found him physically attractive, the man was built like a Greek god for crying out loud. But Ben was his best friend, he told himself he wouldn't fall-

 

_I'm in love with him. Oh fuck, I'm in love with him._

 

Something must have shown on his face because Ben stopped dancing and looking at him with concern. “Hux? Doll? Is everything okay?”

 

He sounded so worried and Hux felt himself shake. Sweet kind Ben, who'd seen the worst of Hux and hadn't turned away, who'd always come over to comfort him after a phone call from his father, who made sure he took breaks from studying, who did everything he could to cheer him up, Hux was so deeply in love with him.

 

“Ben...” he whispered, his voice lost over the sound of the music, but Ben seemed to understand.

 

“Doll...” He whispered back, and he was meeting him half way as Hux leant in to kiss him. Distantly, Hux was aware of the music and people all around them, but the way Ben held tightly onto his hips, and the way he slowly kissed Hux back was far more important than any of that. They'd never kissed before and yet Hux felt like there was nothing that had come more naturally to him. Ben shyly opened his mouth and Hux started sucking on his lower lip, biting it gently. Ben's grip on his hips became almost bruising, and in an effort make sure he didn't actually hurt Hux, slid his hands over Hux's ass instead, gently squeezing and trying to pull them closer together.

 

Hux whined into their kiss, pushing his hips forwards against Ben's thigh, slowly grinding up against him. This set off something in Ben, who'd been almost hesitant before, but now nipped back at Hux's lips, sliding his tongue over where he'd bitten, letting Hux slowly rut against his thigh. He moved one of his hands from Hux's ass up to his hair and slid his fingers into it, before tugging sharply on it. Hux let his head fall back with a moan, and a second later Ben's lips were at his throat, licking and sucking. Hux let his own hands come up to tangle in Ben's hair, whilst breathy gasps fell from his mouth, still trying to grind his hips forwards.

 

“Hux...” He whispered in his ear, before sucking a mark onto the skin just underneath. Hux was practically writing against him, desperate for any sort of friction. It was so _good_ , but it wasn't enough, he needed more, he wanted everything Ben would give him, he just never wanted to stop touching him oh god-

 

They stopped when they heard a wolf whistle off to one side. Ben pulled away from Hux's neck, although refused to remove his arms from around him, and as they both turned to look, they spotted Delilah and Tom looking at them from just outside the crowd, grinning and making obscene hand gestures. This time Hux did bury his face into Ben, who was grinning and flipping the two of them off. He turned his attention back to Hux when he heard him groan in embarrassment.

 

Hux looked up when he heard Ben trying to shush him and tell him it was okay. His lips were wet and swollen from kissing, eyes almost completely dark and breathing hard like he'd been ravished.

 

He'd never looked more beautiful.

 

Ben let their foreheads rest together and started swaying gently with him, giving them a moment to catch their breath. Hux held onto him tightly, and spoke up almost timidly.

 

“Ben...” He whispered, waiting until he was looking at him properly, “What we just did... I, I need to clarify... What was that to you?”

 

Ben looked at him strangely, as though he wasn't making any sense.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I just,” Hux could feel his nerves start to get the better of him, the looming dread that this wasn't going to end the way he wanted, “I saw you earlier with one of your friends dancing and I, I need to know if what we just did was just kissing to you.”

 

Ben looked confused for a second longer, and then understanding washed over him and he let out a small unbelieving laugh.

 

“Hux... Doll, I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you for months.”

 

No, there was no way, Hux would have noticed surely if Ben harboured any sort of feelings like that towards him. He wouldn't have noticed... He would have...

 

“You mean that?”

 

“Baby...” Ben murmured, and Hux felt his stomach stir at his tone, “of course I mean it.”

 

Hux stared at him in shock, trying to take it in. How long had they been dancing around each other without realising? How long ago could they have been kissing like that? Well Hux wasn't going to waste anymore time. With a smile he leant forward to kiss him again, with no uncertainty in sight. He delighted in Ben's soft noise of surprise, and felt himself smile into the kiss. He could hear cheers go up around them, and presumed that another act had come out to perform, but there was only one thing he was willing to focus on right then.

 

He pulled away to mouth down to Ben's neck, finding it only appropriate that he received a hickey too, since he was certain there was one blooming on his own neck. Ben was so wonderfully responsive to it, clutching at Hux desperately as he bit into the soft skin of his neck, sucking hard. He let a hand trail down to the front of Ben's jeans and rubbed firmly over his crotch, delighted to find Ben already half hard.

 

“Come back to mine tonight.” Hux murmured in his ear, sounding about as wrecked as he felt.

 

“Yes...” Ben breathed, trying to press himself impossibly closer. Reluctantly, Hux took his hand away, not wanting to get kicked out for being too explicit in public. Previously he'd always considered PDA something he was far removed from, but apparently things were different now.

 

“I love you.” He said firmly, and couldn't help the swell of happiness in his chest as he saw how much the statement made Ben smile. “I-I've loved you for so long and I didn't even know-”

 

“Shhhh...” Ben cooed, pulling him into a proper embrace. “It's alright. We made it here. That's all that matters.”

 

Hux clutched at the back of Ben's shirt and breathed him in, wondering if the beating of his heart would ever slow down again. He could hear the applause, signalling the end of the drag act, but it seemed so far away from where they were. The only thing that mattered was Ben, and the way he held onto Hux as though he was so unbelievably precious to him. It made Hux blush to think that maybe that wasn't so far from the truth. Eventually Ben let go to join in applauding the drag queen, and Hux followed along too. Ben turned to him, once the crowed had calmed down, and took Hux's hand in his own, linking their fingers together.

 

“Shall we get out of here?”

 

Hux nodded, squeezing their joint hands. “Lead the way.”

 

With a smile, Ben pulled them from the crowd and over to the exit. As they began to walk away, Hux turned back to look over his shoulder at the club for a final time. Despite feeling so hesitant beforehand, he'd actually had a good time. The dancing was quite fun, all in all, and he supposed the music wasn't too awful. There were still so many questions wanted answered, namely about how Ben had managed to entangle himself into the club's web of drag queens and dancers, but it could wait for another time. Right now they were going to go back to Hux's flat and learn about each other the way they should have been doing months ago.

 

“You okay doll?” Ben asked, just as they were about to leave the club. Hux turned back to face him, smiling brighter than he ever had before.

 

“Yes,” he replied, leaning forward to kiss Ben, simply because he could, “perfect.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> well this was a wild ride huh!
> 
> also if anyone is interested, [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3j-JLylgNk) is the song i imagined hux and ben dancing to, and [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd5ZSbQphCI) is the song that played when they kissed
> 
> as always you can find me at [skywalkeraesthetics](http://www.skywalkeraesthetics.tumblr.com)
> 
> (p.s. for those that read loyalties, there should be a new chapter out in a few days!)


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